Two thirds (64.5 per cent) of institutional investors believe that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be widely adopted in the real estate sector by 2022, according to a new report commissioned by Intertrust, with 42 per cent of those surveyed saying the technology will be widely adopted by 2020.
The research highlights the advantages of integrating AI into the real estate investment process. Performance measurement, cost savings and reduction of time consuming and low skill tasks were cited as some of the leading benefits
When asked about the impact this will have on the sector, 34 per cent of respondents said AI will improve investors’ ability to make better, more informed decisions.
The survey also revealed the extent to which professionals thought AI would impact employment in the sector. A fifth of respondents predicted that there would be no job losses, as people will be moved into higher skilled roles. However, the average prediction across all participants was that 12.8 per cent of front and back office jobs could be at risk by 2020.
Despite optimism about the future of AI, 33 per cent of respondents said that the technology isn’t yet ready for use in the real estate industry. The same proportion believes that this is caused by a lack of investment in AI from companies in the sector.
“The use of AI in the industry has become an increasingly hot topic, with many predicting that it will fundamentally transform real estate investment within two to three years,” says Jon Barratt, Head of Real Estate at Intertrust. “With well-established business models, the real estate investment industry can at times seem slow to adapt to new innovations. However once early adopters prove the investment case, we may see the majority of players in the industry quickly follow suit.”
